Maya moves SC, accuses Centre of misusing CBI in I-T case

NEW DELHI: In what signals an intensification of the BSP-Congress feud, Ms Mayawati on Friday took a "I-am-being-victimised" complaint against the Centre to the Supreme Court.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who moved the apex court for quashing the disproportionate assets case against her, charged the UPA government at the Centre of misusing the CBI to ruin her political career.

The move comes in the wake of efforts by the government to calibrate the investigations into the DA case against the chief minister. It be recalled that the case had dropped in the agency's priority list when the Congress was trying to work out a political deal with the BSP.

In her writ petition, the chief minister said that attempt was on to tarnish her image.

"It has added to the worry, anxiety, expense and disturbance in her political life, which has been made miserable due to unduly prolonged investigations in the FIRs by the CBI. It has become a tool in the hands of all political parties and the media to continuously publicly tarnish her image," the writ petition filed on behalf of the chief minister said.

Ms Mayawati said the cases against her was coming in her efforts to uplift the downtrodden, Ms Mayawati, who narrated her work among the marginalised and needy, said "keeping the sword of investigation hanging for a long time was seriously impairing the political journey".

The chief minister alleged that the CBI was going beyond its brief of probing the Taj corridor case for conducting investigations into her assets. She said it was a clear breach of right to peaceful life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The writ petition said CBI was being used for achieving the political objective of the ruling party at the Centre. "The action of the central government in using the CBI as an instrument to achieve its political purposes has posed a real and imminent threat to the very fabric of Indian democracy."

The petition said the manner in which the CBI has conducted itself in registering the FIR was a textbook example of overreach by an agency under the control of the Union government. "This gives rise to apprehensions of an attempt to secure political ends by an abuse of the legal system."

Elaborating the chief minister's complaint of political vendetta, the petition said the chief minister was being harassed for highlighting problems facing her state. "There has been sharp differences on various issues, on account of which the petitioner has felt it her duty, as chief minister, to publicly protest against what she considers as central apathy to the problems of UP."